Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

Noonan: Turbulence Ahead

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The always interesting Peggy Noonan wrote an excellent piece of Thanksgiving Day literature which appeared in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal. She illustrates, in her ever-poignant way, how many things we should be thankful for—from the in-progress, peaceful, smooth transition of presidential power to the relative economic stability (yes, you read that right) we are surrounded by today.

As Noonan points out, with all the media and punditry and politicians going on about how we are in the midst of an economic calamity, the reality is quite different from where I’m sitting and if you look around honestly you’ll likely come to the same conclusion. People are still shopping, buying, traveling, and more.

Despite that, Noonan believes there is turbulance ahead. But we have weather turbulance before, and will do so again. It’s not the end of the world.

Happy (slightly belated) Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Terrorism Fears

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Ongoing economic woes have taken a back-seat in the news this Thanksgiving as Al-Qaeda, the worldwide terrorist network responsible for the 9/11/2001 attacks and countless other acts of mass murder, rears its ugly head.

Yesterday, gunmen armed with automatic weapons and grenades laid seige to the Indian city of Mumbai, targeting locations likely to house British and U.S. tourists. At least 101 have been killed and 287 injured in the attacks, and while the purpetrators have not yet been identified the attack—coordinated across the city of Mumbai—bears the hallmarks of Al-Qaeda terrorism.

Meanwhile, reports are emerging that worldwide terrorist ‘chatter’ has led intelligence chiefs to believe that major attacks—perhaps including the Mumbai attacks, and perhaps something else entirely—is in the works for the period of time before President-elect Barack Obama (D) takes office in January. A specific report has now emerged stating that New York City’s Penn Station, a major train station, was the target of an Al-Qaeda plot. The station, now under heavy security, is a major hub in the U.S. northeast transportation network and, if attacked, could result in major nationwide transportation disruption during one of the heaviest travel seasons.

I wish everybody a safe Thanksgiving; be alert and report any suspicious activity.

Charitable Giving for Hamas

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I have said it many times before: I have met quite a few Muslims, both American citizens and legal immigrants, and most of them have been fine, upstanding, peaceful people. One, a Somali immigrant and former coworker of mine, is one of the most kind, generous, and pleasant people I have ever met. Without fail, Muslims I have known personally condemn terrorism and violence in the name of their religion (despite the Qur’an’s acceptance of it).

Having said all that, I cannot accept Islam as a ‘religion of peace’. The Qur’an, indeed, encourages violence against ‘infidels’ who do not adhere to the Islamic faith. Terrorism has not been clearly, publicly rebuked by the worldwide Islamic community. It is Palestinian Muslims who continually break every truce they establish with neighboring Israel; it is middle-eastern Muslims who committed the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks and continue to incite violence in Iraq and elsewhere; and, finally, it is the Muslim states of Iran and Syria that are among the most dangerous, belligerent regimes in the world.

Apologists—and, yes, I was once one of them—will say that these acts are primarily caused by middle-eastern culture, repressive governments, and poor eductation rather than Islam itself. I have no doubt that these things play into what is happening, but you can’t write off the fact that such violence has rarely occured (though, admittedly, it has) in Christian or Jewish history and, when it did happen, leaders and governments led by those movements usually punished the perpetrators and repudiated the acts.

And, more tellingly, American Muslims can be found engaging in the same activities under the auspices of mosques and charities. Today, we find that the leaders of the Holy Land Foundation—a U.S. Muslim ‘charity’ group—have been convicted on 108 (!) charges of funneling money to terrorism. They sent over 12 million dollars to Hamas, the Palestinian group that blames Jews for essentially all wars and calamities in history, denies the holocaust, denies the legitimacy of Israel, engages in guerrilla warfare and terrorism against civilians in Israel, and more. ‘Religion of peace’ indeed.

Logical Talk About the ‘Big Three’ Automakers

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Logic is in short supply these days, but there are still rational, thinking people out there writing columns, making statements, and talking sense . . . the trick is finding them. While many American politicos in Congress, the White House, the media, and the blogosphere have gone on an incredible ‘bailout bonanza’, committing your and my tax dollars to all kinds of crazy, counterproductive causes without hardly a second thought, we really need to sit back, take a breath, and look at these things in a rational context.

Bernard Avishai is doing that with regard to Ford, GM, and Chrysler’s shameful begging for large amounts of tax dollars to counteract their own mistakes. In a column that appeared in today’s Washington Post, he makes a case not for a bailout (though he does not necessarily oppose one) but instead for a sea-change in how the ‘big three’ operate.

I certainly don’t agree with all of Avishai’s proposals. First, any government money or government equity investment (in reality, a partial nationalization) must be absolutely off-the-table. The ‘big three’ dug their own hole, and they alone have an obligation to find their way out of it. Second, I don’t agree with his proposed patent changes since they would potentially stifle rather than increase innovation as companies will be fearful of their competitors benefiting from their good ideas.

Having said that, Avishai’s core thesis is right: we can’t scream “NEED MONEY NOW” and wave our arms around, we need to look at the real problems and the ‘big three’ U.S. automakers need to find real solutions.

Fans: ‘Solace’ Among Best 20 Bond Films

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Fans of the long-running 007 film series agree, nearly universally, that Quantum of Solace starring Daniel Craig as James Bond is easily one of the best twenty films in the series. According to a recent study, which polled over 500 self-affirmed fans of the James Bond films, Solace is viewed very favorably when compared with the two bad films in the series, Moonraker and Diamonds Are Forever.

Since Ian Fleming’s fictional British Secret Agent, James Bond, first came to film portrayed by Sean Connery in 1962’s Dr. No, there have been 22 official films in the series and an additional ‘unofficial’ film, Never Say Never Again, also starring Connery. Five other actors have played James Bond in the long line of films: George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.

Read more . . .

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.